Turn back the hands of time to November 22nd, 1963 when President John F. Kennedy and his entourage drove through the streets of Dallas, Texas in the presidential X-100 limousine.

Dubbed X-100 by the US Secret Service, the Presidential Parade Vehicle began life as a stock 1961 Lincoln Continental four-door convertible. Ford Motor Company and Hess & Eisenhardt, custom automobile builders of Cincinnati, Ohio, worked together to create the most modern open parade limousine of its day. Originally painted midnight blue, the X-100 was packed with numerous special features including two-radio telephones, auxiliary jump seats for extra passengers, interior floodlights to illuminate the president at night, and retractable steps for Secret Service agents. A hydraulically operated rear seat could be raised nearly eleven inches to give crowds a better look at the president and his guests. The most notable feature was a series of removable steel and transparent plastic roof panels that could be installed in various combinations from an enclosed hardtop to a totally open car. Oddly, the X-100 carried no armor or weapons because the purpose of the car was to make the president more visible, not to provide protection. That philosophy changed completely after November 22nd, 1963.

This gorgeous 1:43 scale die-cast replica of the X-100 features six people riding in the passenger compartment including the President and Mrs. Kennedy, Governor John B. Connally and his wife, and two secret service agents. Comes packaged in a handsome acrylic display case. The real X-100 limousine can be viewed at the Henry Ford Museum in Detroit, Michigan.
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Dimensions:
Length: 6 inches
Width: 1.5 inches

Historical Account: "The Edison Institute" - The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village), in the Metro Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, USA, is "the nation's largest indoor-outdoor history museum" complex. More than a museum, it is a museum-entertainment complex where patrons can take a ride in a Model T, ride the train, visit an IMAX Theater, or see a live show. Named for its founder, the noted automobile industrialist Henry Ford and based on his desire to preserve items of historical significance and portray the Industrial Revolution, the property houses a vast array of famous homes, machinery, exhibits, and Americana. The collection contains many rare exhibits including John F. Kennedy's limousine, Abraham Lincoln's chair from Ford's Theater, Thomas Edison's laboratory, and the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop.

The oficial name for the complex is "The Edison Institute" (though now that name only appears on paper work), which was dedicated by President Herbert Hoover to Ford's longtime friend Thomas Edison on October 21st, 1929 -- the 50th anniversary of the invention of the incandescent light bulb. Of the 260 people in attendance, some of the more famous were Marie Curie, George Eastman, John D. Rockefeller, Will Rogers, and Orville Wright. The dedication was carried on radio with listeners encouraged to turn off their electric lights until the switch was flipped at the Museum.

The Edison Institute was originally composed of the Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, and the Greenfield Village Schools (an experimental learning facility). Initially, Greenfield Village and the Henry Ford Museum were used as a laboratory for the school which included practical work in the machine shops. Admission to the Village was free to the public for the first few years. By 1937, the school had 300 students ranging from kindergarten to college age. The last original school on the grounds closed in 1969 although informal community education classes and school field trips continued. The Henry Ford Academy opened in 1997 and is now a 400-student secondary level charter school with admission open to all county residents by lottery. Students have classes in a glass-walled section of the Museum, a converted carousel building and in Pullman cars on a rail siding, feet away from the active Village railway.

I've got two of these and they're incredible. The detail is amazing, right down to the license plate, GG 300. I've also got the LBJ limo, the Mercedes limo made by RIO and just ordered the Berlin X-100, which I'm sure won't disappoint.A unique and outstanding gift for the history/political buff.